kernowsvenski
Well-Known Member
This is SOOO good. They ought to change the law though.
Alibro
Well-Known Member
Thanks mate but the tax is still over £200 more.Well done Ali.
It sad they won't change the VED, but don't be too sad. As of the 1st of April next year, all EVs made after 2017 will have to pay a VED of £180, at least that's how I understand it. So you don't need to feed quite so cheated.
The stupid thing is they say they cannot change the V5 but a paragraph on the V5 specifically states you must tell them if anything is incorrect. WTF?????
kernowsvenski
Well-Known Member
Yeah, it's a bit mad. The gov't ought to be encouraging this kind of thing, but I appreciate it's well below the bottom of the priority list
Maybe a short letter in a few months telling them about the "V5C error" !! Some overworked admin might just do it anyway ?
You could also get the MOT guy to accidentally enter the wrong fuel type. My local guy did it by mistake, and entered my P38 V8 as diesel in November. I only noticed when I downloaded a spare certificate.
Same Car !! >>>>
You could also get the MOT guy to accidentally enter the wrong fuel type. My local guy did it by mistake, and entered my P38 V8 as diesel in November. I only noticed when I downloaded a spare certificate.
Same Car !! >>>>
Alibro
Well-Known Member
The stupid thing is the MOT guys already marked the car down as electric so if you check the MOT status that is what comes up. You couldn't make this up.
Alibro
Well-Known Member
I had to drive approx 28 miles to the far side of Belfast today to collect parts for work so figured it was a nice trip for my Freelander EV. When I started the pack was at 398V and when I got home it was around 356 but I had another short journey to do so when I got home this evening the pack was at 354V after driving 60 miles.
It seems that for the first 30 or 40 miles I get around 1 mile per volt, after that it is around 1.5 miles per volt down to around 340V. If I push it I can take the voltage down to 335V but any less and I'm asking for trouble. This gives a comfortable range of around 80 miles or a stressful range of 90V to 100V.
A lot of todays journey was motorway but I stayed under 65mph for most of it. When you're an auld fart like me that's OK, 25 year old me would not have been happy.
I need to bare in mind the Freelander is not the most aerodynamic car so high speed would drain the battery much more quickly.
Best of all, since making the changes last week I've driven around 200 miles with no cutting out.
It seems that for the first 30 or 40 miles I get around 1 mile per volt, after that it is around 1.5 miles per volt down to around 340V. If I push it I can take the voltage down to 335V but any less and I'm asking for trouble. This gives a comfortable range of around 80 miles or a stressful range of 90V to 100V.
A lot of todays journey was motorway but I stayed under 65mph for most of it. When you're an auld fart like me that's OK, 25 year old me would not have been happy.
I need to bare in mind the Freelander is not the most aerodynamic car so high speed would drain the battery much more quickly.Best of all, since making the changes last week I've driven around 200 miles with no cutting out.
kernowsvenski
Well-Known Member
Just interested, how long does a charge take to get your 80 to 100 mile range?
65mph sounds a bit racey to me mind. You need to take it easy.
P.S. good news on the not cutting out!
65mph sounds a bit racey to me mind. You need to take it easy.
P.S. good news on the not cutting out!
Alibro
Well-Known Member
Approx 10 mph.
This is using the proper car charger that is able to deliver 7kW but in my case the charger in my car can only charge at 3.4kW. If I use the granny charger it would be more like 6mph as it is only 2.2kW
My Disco 2 has a dodgy alternator so it has a solar panel permanently connected at the mo (It's not my main car) but it seems to be enough to keep the battery topped up.
Just wondering if those might help at all given how cheap they are now, or would they be a drop in the ocean, or voltage difference too great, etc.
Just wondering if those might help at all given how cheap they are now, or would they be a drop in the ocean, or voltage difference too great, etc.
Alibro
Well-Known Member
I bought a couple of those a few years ago and they work well for keeping a 12V battery topped up but only give 10 or 20 watts. My car needs 10 or 20 kilo watts to top up so they wouldn't help much.
Alibro
Well-Known Member
The car is now driving reliably but I'm still in the testing phase I've decided to just do tinkering type jobs
A day or two ago I fitted the spare dash surround that I sprayed black.
Originally I tried spraying the side covers satin black but for some reason the paint did not take properly so one side looked shiny and the other didn't.
I would have tried again except I had run out of satin black so I said stuff it and sprayed it with lacquer. Maybe the satin would have been nicer but it is still better than the silver original (in my humble opinion). I already sprayed the door handles, radio surrounds and mirrors satin black and they look great.
If you're wondering what the toggle switch is for I use it to turn off the power steering pump while charging.
Today I had a go at sorting out the rear passenger side window surround and regulator.
First job was to remove the door panel and I noticed a screw missing so somebody had been in here before.
Look what I found.
It looks like someone had fitted an aftermarket regulator complete with motor but the motor doesn't have the correct socket so the wires need to be spliced. One of them was disconnected so after plugging it in the window works.
So as I was in there I took the window out and replaced the surround that was in a terrible state.
This was it before
And after
Still not perfect but much better than before.
Then I fitted my Arduino Due that controls charging into a 3D printed box.
Previously it was very exposed so should be safer from shorting out to something now.
Once I'm happy that the car is reliable I will have to get on with other jobs that will require a lot more time.
Not necessarily in this order.
1. Install the heater that is en-route.
2. Install the fuse terminating blocks that arrived this week to sort the tangle of wires in the low voltage junction box.
3. Connect BMS wires to the remaining battery modules in the boot and connect the BMS.
4. Have a go at doing a wheel alignment as it seems to be out. There is no point in paying for it to be done properly until after the heater is installed as the front subframe will need to come out again to get at it.
5. Respray the rear passenger door as the paint is peeling.
6. Enable the front heated windscreen as the CCU will not turn it on without a running engine.
7. Work out how to turn off the charging automatically as if I forget about it the batteries will get over charged.
A day or two ago I fitted the spare dash surround that I sprayed black.
Originally I tried spraying the side covers satin black but for some reason the paint did not take properly so one side looked shiny and the other didn't.
I would have tried again except I had run out of satin black so I said stuff it and sprayed it with lacquer. Maybe the satin would have been nicer but it is still better than the silver original (in my humble opinion). I already sprayed the door handles, radio surrounds and mirrors satin black and they look great.
If you're wondering what the toggle switch is for I use it to turn off the power steering pump while charging.
Today I had a go at sorting out the rear passenger side window surround and regulator.
First job was to remove the door panel and I noticed a screw missing so somebody had been in here before.
Look what I found.
It looks like someone had fitted an aftermarket regulator complete with motor but the motor doesn't have the correct socket so the wires need to be spliced. One of them was disconnected so after plugging it in the window works.
So as I was in there I took the window out and replaced the surround that was in a terrible state.
This was it before
And after
Still not perfect but much better than before.
Then I fitted my Arduino Due that controls charging into a 3D printed box.
Previously it was very exposed so should be safer from shorting out to something now.
Once I'm happy that the car is reliable I will have to get on with other jobs that will require a lot more time.
Not necessarily in this order.
1. Install the heater that is en-route.
2. Install the fuse terminating blocks that arrived this week to sort the tangle of wires in the low voltage junction box.
3. Connect BMS wires to the remaining battery modules in the boot and connect the BMS.
4. Have a go at doing a wheel alignment as it seems to be out. There is no point in paying for it to be done properly until after the heater is installed as the front subframe will need to come out again to get at it.
5. Respray the rear passenger door as the paint is peeling.
6. Enable the front heated windscreen as the CCU will not turn it on without a running engine.
7. Work out how to turn off the charging automatically as if I forget about it the batteries will get over charged.
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Nodge68
Well-Known Member
Looks good Ali. I'm so pleased that it's stopped cutting out for you.
Out of interest, what design software are you using for your 3D printed parts. The wife bought me a small (almost toy like) 3D printer for Christmas to get me started in 3D printing. However I've no software so was curious as to what you use.
Out of interest, what design software are you using for your 3D printed parts. The wife bought me a small (almost toy like) 3D printer for Christmas to get me started in 3D printing. However I've no software so was curious as to what you use.
Alibro
Well-Known Member
Thanks mate, I use Tinkercad, it's specially designed for children so I can just about cope with it.
The box I printed for the Arduino was originally designed by someone else and all I did was extend the height.
Even with Tinkercad there is a steep learning curve but I focused on doing simple boxes and the like, then slowly figured out how to change things.
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Alibro
Well-Known Member
I just realised the wires for the motor are ar$e about face and the window goes up when I push down and vice versa.The car is now driving reliably but I'm still in the testing phase I've decided to just do tinkering type jobs
A day or two ago I fitted the spare dash surround that I sprayed black.
Originally I tried spraying the side covers satin black but for some reason the paint did not take properly so one side looked shiny and the other didn't.
I would have tried again except I had run out of satin black so I said stuff it and sprayed it with lacquer. Maybe the satin would have been nicer but it is still better than the silver original (in my humble opinion). I already sprayed the door handles, radio surrounds and mirrors satin black and they look great.
If you're wondering what the toggle switch is for I use it to turn off the power steering pump while charging.
Today I had a go at sorting out the rear passenger side window surround and regulator.
First job was to remove the door panel and I noticed a screw missing so somebody had been in here before.
Look what I found.
View attachment 309117View attachment 309116
It looks like someone had fitted an aftermarket regulator complete with motor but the motor doesn't have the correct socket so the wires need to be spliced. One of them was disconnected so after plugging it in the window works.
So as I was in there I took the window out and replaced the surround that was in a terrible state.
This was it before
View attachment 309119
And after
View attachment 309120
Still not perfect but much better than before.
Then I fitted my Arduino Due that controls charging into a 3D printed box.
View attachment 309123View attachment 309122View attachment 309121
Previously it was very exposed so should be safer from shorting out to something now.
Once I'm happy that the car is reliable I will have to get on with other jobs that will require a lot more time.
Not necessarily in this order.
1. Install the heater that is en-route.
2. Install the fuse terminating blocks that arrived this week to sort the tangle of wires in the low voltage junction box.
3. Connect BMS wires to the remaining battery modules in the boot and connect the BMS.
4. Have a go at doing a wheel alignment as it seems to be out. There is no point in paying for it to be done properly until after the heater is installed as the front subframe will need to come out again to get at it.
5. Respray the rear passenger door as the paint is peeling.
6. Enable the front heated windscreen as the CCU will not turn it on without a running engine.
7. Work out how to turn off the charging automatically as if I forget about it the batteries will get over charged.
Oh well, something for me to sort the next time I have the door card off.
Nodge68
Well-Known Member
That sounds just up my street. My brain isn't as fast as it was, so children's software sounds ideal.Thanks mate, I use Tinkercad, it's specially designed for children so I can just about cope with it.
The box I printed for the Arduino was originally designed by someone else and all I did was extend the height.
Even with Tinkercad there is a steep learning curve but I focused on doing simple boxes and the like, then slowly figured out how to change things.
Maybe reverse engineer the software on another leccy car, to figure out how they calculate range ? I would have thought they use a combo of voltage & current consumed ?I had to drive approx 28 miles to the far side of Belfast today to collect parts for work so figured it was a nice trip for my Freelander EV. When I started the pack was at 398V and when I got home it was around 356 but I had another short journey to do so when I got home this evening the pack was at 354V after driving 60 miles.
It seems that for the first 30 or 40 miles I get around 1 mile per volt, after that it is around 1.5 miles per volt down to around 340V. If I push it I can take the voltage down to 335V but any less and I'm asking for trouble. This gives a comfortable range of around 80 miles or a stressful range of 90V to 100V.
A lot of todays journey was motorway but I stayed under 65mph for most of it. When you're an auld fart like me that's OK, 25 year old me would not have been happy.
Best of all, since making the changes last week I've driven around 200 miles with no cutting out.
For the power steering pump, you might need thicker cables & better connectors !! Correct connector pair are here.
I guess if you can read the current voltage and mileage, you can figure out the rate of consumption per mile so if you know what your floor voltage is, it shouldn't be too difficult to estimate remaining mileage.
What devices are you using? I might do some Googling...
Alibro
Well-Known Member
As mentioned by Bukko I already know the lower voltage I can go down to so I have an idea of range but at some point I will figure out a way to use the fuel gauge to show range.
Good spot on the connectors but the socket is already filled with hot glue so would be difficult to clean out and the current is up to 40A or 50A only very briefly so the 4mm cable I'm using will be fine.
Don't forget the Volvo PAS will only run at max 75% without CAN control and from my experience so far I have no reason to try and achieve 100%. I'm perfectly happy with the assistance I'm getting so I will never see the full current draw from this pump.
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